This is another article posted by Father John Brian Paprock on the same list. I think I have read something like this before, but am not sure if it was posted here or not. If it was, forgive me. If not, enjoy!

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The following article of an interview with Archbishop Anastasios of Tiranaand All Albania is from SYNDESMOS News, Winter 2001/Spring 2002

Understanding Orthodoxy

Is there any difference between internal and external mission? (home andforeign missions)

As you know, the terminology "internal mission" is an influence of theGerman "inneremission," and in it we have found a very easy excuse topersuade ourselves that we are missionaries by doing internal mission. Andyet the commandment says clearly: 'and you shall be my witnesses inJerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.' Thebiblical understanding of mission (apostole) means to leave, to accept to bein another cultural environment, to be a stranger. We must distinguishbetween apostolic mission and the pastoral efforts that we undertake in ourlocal churches. The pastoral efforts and the renewal of Christian life areindeed very important. In many societies now where an atheistic influenceprevails, we have to be a witness (in Greek, martyria), to invite to theChurch people who do not have faith. However, spiritual edification withinthe Church is not exactly missionary effort. Missionary effort is abouthaving the vocation to bring into the Church that which is outside of theChurch. In the beginning, we had a youthful enthusiasm for the meaning ofthe word mission. Later, we discovered that these words were widely used.Then we decided to use rather the word martyria, witness, not mission.

How can we distinguish true mission from proselytism?

Proselytism uses all possible means (gifts, food, money and otherprivileges) to achieve an aim, to bring followers into a concrete religiouscommunity. This contravenes the dignity of the human person and of theGospel, and I believe it is really not sincere. And what is not sincere,sincere both in purpose and sincere in ways of acting, cannot be Orthodox.For me proselytism starts when other means are used, instead of the Gospel,in order to gain followers.

We do not have anxiety about statistics and followers. The Orthodox martyriamust be a free witness of what we believe and what we have. A sharing of thegift that we have received. If the others accept it, fine. If they do notaccept it, it is their own responsibility.

Is our mission to convert someone to Orthodoxy?

Orthodox mission consists in giving the treasure we have, and leaving theother to decide whether he will take it or not. If the other wants to jointhe Orthodox Church, you will never say "No." Our aim is to transmit thetradition of the Gospel in all its fullness, remaining free from any anxietyto convert anyone. You cannot impose on anyone's freedom. You are there, yougive your witness; you are a candle, lighted by paschal joy, and if theother wishes to take from your flame, then of course, you will not refusehim.

In which place is it more difficult to conduct missionary activity, in arich western society or in a developing country in Africa?

It depends. I do not like this phrase more difficult. Sometimes it is moredifficult in a developing country, sometimes it is more difficult in anaffluent country. It is not so easy to live in a developing country as aforeigner. It is, for instance, very difficult to live in Africa when thereis no water or electricity. But still, it depends. Do not ask where it ismore easy or more difficult; ask, "Where does God ask me to be and to go?"And the answer to this question is really a matter of personal vocation.

Very often I am asked where it is more difficult, in Africa or in Albania? Ianswer clearly in Albania. In Africa, it has never been forbidden to pray toGod, or to dance for God; these things are taken for granted. Albania passedthrough a very terrible persecution for 23 years: if you had the courage toexpress your faith you were sent into exile or to prison.

Sometimes we find ourselves thinking that missionary activity is reservedfor the clergy only. Is this true?

It is very easy to say: 'This is for monks or priests and since I am not amonk or a priest, I do not have any obligation to do this,' but this is amistake.

And here I insist on a theological understanding of mission: every personwho is incorporated into the Church, into the mystical body of Christ, bearsa responsibility for the Church. Every person has a vocation and of course,he or she must see in his/her heart how this will be expressed andexperienced.

Of course there are different ways of participating in a missionary effort.Not all of us shall leave our countries and go somewhere in Asia or inAfrica. This was a western romantic vision of mission in the 19th century.Sometimes even in the old Syndesmos gatherings we had the impression that amissionary is a person that takes a cross, and goes to the forest announcingthe Gospel. This is not the style of missionary work today.

To take a concrete example: Albania is a missionary field, at least for uswho are not from Albania. Our excellent collaborators are not only priestsbut also lay people. Our team is very small, in all - twenty people, half ofit is lay people: professors, teachers, nurses, administrators, catechists,translators.

For every person today there is a possibility to do missionary work. Missionis not only for priests or monks. It is for everybody. But it is also forpriests and monks.

Are local cultures a help or a hindrance in mission. And how have youreacted to local cultures in your missionary experience?

This issue of culture is a very basic one. When the Gospel meets anotherculture, three things happen. One part of the culture clearly you have toaccept - for instance, the language. Another part of the culture you have toreject - that which does not agree with the Gospel. Some customs, vendettas,or other traditions that do not grant the same dignity to women, or to othermembers of the society. And there is a third part, which you have totransform. I can say to "baptize." To use it, giving it another meaning. Andthis was exactly what happened in the early Church. When the Gospel cameto/encountered Greek culture, it was not a simple change. Greek culture wasa very complicated reality. We have to see that other cultures have theirown dignity, their own interest and we must respect them.

When we started to think about Africa, it was in the beginning of thesixties. At that time, the general idea was that Africa was a very simpleenvironment, tribal, primitive, and we had to go and bring European cultureto it. Then I did some studies on this, and discovered that Africa is morecomplicated than we think.

My supervisor had asked me to write a thesis about African symbolism inrelation to Orthodox symbolism. When I started my research, I discoveredthat I was dealing with several hundred African languages - not dialects -and that it was impossible to work on such a theme. Then I said to myself:"Let us be more humble. For all these centuries Africa was not outside theinterest of God. How did He give them His witness? What are the Africanreligion, African symbolism, the African way of relation with God?" Iunderstood that it was important to study African religions carefully, thatit is not accurate to speak about "primitives." Our knowledge is primitive,but they are not "primitives."

We have to accept our ignorance and be more humble in our attitude towardsothers. We must accept the expressions of their feelings and their life andnot say, 'This is not Orthodox!' What is not Orthodox? Not Orthodox is to beimpure, to be dishonest, to be against the will of God, this is unorthodox.The African church is a joyful church, the Africans are cheerful people.Thisis a blessing, I believe, for Orthodoxy. Respect for cultures, respect forthe dignity of others: this is the beginning, this is the Orthodox attitude.This respect was demonstrated in history, in the Byzantine period, whenCyrillus and Methodius went to the Slavic people. The Russian church alsokept this tradition in approaching other peoples - and when they kept thisrespect forthe dignity of others, they were successful. When we forgot it, the resultof our own efforts was very poor.

Does the love of one's enemies extend to the enemies of one's faith, andhow?

When Christ speaks about enemies, he speaks about persons. That does notmean, of course, that we have to accept the theory and style of life of ourenemies. There are ways of thinking and acting of our enemy that I do notaccept - and this is not a lack of love for him. We respect the person; wedo not respect all the ideas and paraphernalia of this person. When we speakabout love, we speak about love of other persons, not of other religioussystems. We have to respect even our enemy as he or she is. But no, ofcourse, to accept and copy his ideas and behavior.

Those who have never encountered Christ, and may piously observe the rulesof their own particular faith (for example, good Muslims), will they besaved?

You know that the understanding of the other faiths is an extremelyimportant theological question: Is God present in them? I do not think thatwe can answer this question very quickly. Today we face two majortheological problems. The first is ecclesiological, it is the complexproblem of how we see the other churches. And the second is theunderstanding of the otherreligions. Of course we accept that God has providence and interest for thewhole world. We do not know clearly how this presence manifests itself. Weknow clearly what is the sure way for salvation to follow. As far as othersare concerned, we have the responsibility to pray and to give them ourwitness, but we cannot take from Him the last judgment and say now just howHe would judge others. And we must be a little more humble than some of ourbrothers who know everything about God, [and] behave like spokesmen of God:'God will act like this or that.' Let us accept that we do not know thewhole mystery of God, and we do not know about His infinite love.

We must develop an understanding of other religions from an Orthodox pointof view. We need to see this in the Trinitarian perspective and not onlyChristological. In some protestant circles it happens that they see this inChristological terms only. But in the Orthodox Church we consider that God'scovenant has always extended to other peoples, to the whole creation. Wealso understand that the Spirit works in a freedom that we do not know.

Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All Albania is one of Orthodoxy'sleading missiologists. These questions were offered by participants of the2001 Syndesmos Festival in St. Maurin, France, where his Beatitude gave thekey-note address. His answers offer challenging insights into key questionsof missions work in our times

Taken from an article originally published in SYNDESMOS News, Vol. XV / 2,Winter 2001/Spring 2002, p 11-13.